TaoFest

14 May 2026, 08:30 → 15 May 2026, 13:30 US/Eastern

This symposium celebrates Tao Han's wide-ranging scientific achievements in particle physics and his many influential contributions to the field and its community.

Dates: May 14-15, 2026
Venue: University of Pittsburgh, Benedum Hall, Room 157

Special Events: 

May 13 at 6:30 PM, Reception at the Allegheny Observatory. Shuttle bus pick up at the Hilton Garden Inn at 6:00 PM. 

May 14 at 6:30 PM, Conference banquet at the William Pitt Union  

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Thursday 14 May

08:30 → 09:00 Breakfast and registration

09:00 → 10:20 Talks: Day1 Monring1

09:00 Welcome

Speaker: Adam Leibovich (University of Pittsburgh)

09:10 The Madison–Pitt Legacy: From Theoretical Beauty to Collider Discovery

Speaker: Vernon Barger

TaoFest_Madison_Pitt_Legacy_3.pdf

TaoFest_Madison_Pitt_Legacy_3.pptx

09:30 Doing Particle Physics because It is Fun

Speakers: Tilman Plehn, Tilman Plehn (Heidelberg University)

taofest_26_tilman.pdf

09:55 The Tao of Leadership

Speaker: Elizabeth Simmons (University of California, San Diego)

10:20 → 10:50 Coffee break

10:50 → 12:30 Talks: Day1 Morning2

10:55 Pheno from Madison to Pittsburgh

Speakers: FRANCIS HALZEN, Francis Halzen (University of Wisconsin Madison (US))

Tao2026_Halzen.pdf

Tao2026_Halzen.pptx

11:20 Nano-Hz Gravitational Waves and Supernova Neutrinos.

Speaker: Hooman Davoudiasl

HDavoudiasl-TaoFest.pdf

11:45 Colored Resonances with Tao

Speakers: Zhen Liu (University of Minnesota (US)), Zhen Liu, Zhen Liu

TaoFest_ZhenLiu_2026_2011.pdf

TaoFest_ZhenLiu_2026_2011.pptx

12:10 TBD

Speakers: Marcela Carena, Marcela Carena Lopez

12:30 → 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 → 15:15 Talks: Day1 Afternoon1

14:00 Parton level Monte Carlos, vector boson scattering and other fun work with Tao

Speakers: Dieter Zeppenfeld, Dieter Zeppenfeld (KIT, Karlsruhe)

TaoFest2026.pdf

14:25 The Colorful Life of Tao in the Colorless H Branch

Speakers: Shufang Su (University of Arizona), Shufang Su (University of Arizona), Shufang Su (University of Arizona)

Taofest_05142026_Su.key

Taofest_05142026_Su.pdf

14:50 LNV and VBS in the Tao Sector

Speaker: Richard Ruiz (Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN))

15:15 → 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 → 17:25 Talks: Day1 Afternoon2

15:50 High Energy Physics in the Times of Tao

Speaker: Carlos E.M. Wagner

TaoFest.pdf

16:15 From TASI to the CSM

Speakers: Neil Christensen (Illinois State University), Dr Neil Christensen (Illinois State University)

TaoFest.pdf

16:40 Dark Matter Scattering: New Signals and Models

Speakers: Bhaskar Dutta, Bhaskar Dutta, Prof. Bhaskar Dutta

Models in DM scattering.pdf

17:05 TBD

Speaker: Jack Gunion

18:30 → 21:30 Banquet

Friday 15 May

08:30 → 09:00 Breakfast

09:00 → 10:15 Talks: Day2 Monring1

09:00 Electroweak Restoration at the LHC and beyond

Speaker: Ian Lewis (The University of Kansas)

IML_TaoFest.pdf

09:25 TAO at future lepton colliders

Speaker: Dr Yang Ma (UCLouvain)

TaoFest2026_YM.pdf

09:50 A Journey Through the Energy Frontier with Tao

Speaker: Dorival Gonçalves (Oklahoma State University)

Dorival_TaoFest.pdf

10:15 → 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 → 12:00 Talks: Day2 Monring2+Remarks

10:50 What Can Tao and I Do With High-Energy Neutrinos?

Speaker: Dan Hooper (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Hooper-TaoFest.pdf

11:15 The Tao (道）of Symmetry: an Information-theoretic Perspective

Speakers: Ian Low (Argonne National Lab/Northwestern Univ), Ian Low, Ian Low (Argonne National Laboratory (US))

Low-Taofest.pdf

11:40 My quantum journey with Tao

Speakers: Liantao Wang, Liantao Wang

Wang-Taofest.pdf